How will the former English prime minister Tony Blair and his Australian colleague John Howard have felt to receive the Medal of Freedom from one of the most rejected leaders in the world, George Walker Bush, until 20 of January president of the United States? I don't know, but the Colombian president Álvaro Uribe looked very proud to receive this medal from his great friend, who unfortunately for him leaves the White House soon.
Uribe, Blair and Howard receive the prize because of their efforts to promote democracy, human rights and peace. But the most important reason must have been that Bush felt that they were the least critical leaders in the world towards his policy.
It is ironic in Uribe's case that a president who has been criticized enormously because of his foreign policy, his wars in Afghanistan and especially Iraq, his treatment of the prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, honors a president who has equally received fierce criticism because of the violation of human rights in his country.
And it is even more ironic that exactly because of the human rights violations in Colombia a majority in the American congress didn't want to ratify the Free Trade Treaty with Colombia.
It must have been bitter for Uribe that several human rights groups wrote a letter against his prize. Among them Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, whom he has accused of sympathies for the FARC.
But it was to be expected and one wonders why Bush did what he did. The only reason I can think of is that he has felt very lonely during the last period of his presidency and that he felt the need of company and support.
Bush is off now, but Uribe is going to stay until August 2010 and perhaps longer. No happy tours on Texas ranches with mr. Obama are awaiting him however.
How will he solve this problem? He cannot go on accusing Human Rights Watch and Amnesty of FARC sympathies. He will have to change. Will he be able?
Author Wies Ubags is a Dutch freelance journalist in Bogotá, works for media in her country and has her own weblog.
Gringo Fiddler
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... "And it is even more ironic that exactly because of the human rights violations in Colombia a majority in the American congress didn't want to ratify the Free Trade Treaty with Colombia". The above statment from Ms. Ubags is not quite accurate. Most members of Congress have only the most superficial knowldedge of Colombia, unfortunately, and the human rights issue is a "fig leaf" for entirely domestic political reasons. A major consituency of the Democrat Party are the labor unions; they oppose the Free Trade Agreement because of a perception that it will cost American jobs. The variables and complexities of Free Trade Agreements between different countries are not distinguished by the average union worker so it is easier to be against such agreements across the board. If members of Congress felt that supporting the Free Trade Agreemenet with Colombia would help in the next election, they would support it, without regard to human rights violations. |
Paul Wolf
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... Mr. Uribe's loyalty to George Bush and the Republican Party doesn't serve the interests of the Colombian people. His support of McCain during the election shows that he puts his partisan interests ahead of the national interests. Will Colombia have any influence at all in Washington after next week? Uribe's own popularity has blinded him to the costs of his loyalty to Bush, and there will be costs. |
Paul Wolf
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... Mr. Uribe's loyalty to George Bush and the Republican Party doesn't serve the interests of the Colombian people. His support of McCain during the election shows that he puts his partisan interests ahead of the national interests. Will Colombia have any influence at all in Washington after next week? Uribe's own popularity has blinded him to the costs of his loyalty to Bush, and there will be costs. |
wies
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... I agree with you that mr. Uribe made this mistake. He really has to change his foreign politics and he has to change his attitude towards human rights groups. And although Fiddler is right with his comment on the American trade unions, it is the human rights matter that counts in this issue. Because it is the most visible theme in the Free Trade Treaty discussion. |
angel
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... look the only way to stop the guerrias is to kill them u thin k sending them 2 jail will help just look at da drug lords their emire of drugs destroried on the outside but they are still in control not asmuch they still have lower postions uribe is a fine president and he should contiune with his work no matterr what people say u cant go around nd make people happy u gota do wat u gota do. u cant show symatahy to da bad guys this is no little game its da reall world |
gringo michae
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... I am curious why you think that Uribe will not be that welcome to the White House. I difer having written a number of times to then Sen. Obama as I oppose the TLC but feel Plan Colomia with changes was something worth continuing. In his responses he has always stated that Colombia is an important ally to the USA and stated that Plan Colombia was something he supported. IN some of the coments here think Plan Colombia was a Republican plot seem to forget or understand it was started by then Pres. Clinton |
wies
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... Yes, gringo michae, the relation will go on and they will meet, for sure. But it will be quite different, don't you think so? |
